Weekly Regulatory Briefing (21)
Each week, we bring together the biggest updates in short-term rental regulations from coast to coast. Whether it’s fresh local regulations, emerging trends, or major discussions, our briefing provides all you need to stay in the know.
Each week, we bring together the biggest updates in short-term rental regulations from coast to coast. Whether it’s fresh local regulations, emerging trends, or major discussions, our briefing provides all you need to stay in the know.
🏡 Top Stories This Week
- Nantucket, MA: After months of debate, the Nantucket Board of Health is backing off a proposed bylaw that would have regulated large gatherings at short-term rentals, citing serious concerns over enforcement.
- Citrus County, FL: Citrus County is moving closer to adopting short-term rental monitoring software from GovOS as it seeks to close persistent gaps in tourism tax collection.
🌍 Regional Highlights
- Rhode Island: Short-term rentals continue to stir controversy in Rhode Island, where local and state governments are tightening rules while homeowners like Danielle Alba say it’s getting harder to operate legally.
📜 New Ordinances Approved
- Basalt, CO: In a narrow 4-3 vote, Basalt Town Council approved a significant new fee on short-term rentals imposing a $2,535 per-bedroom annual charge starting June 5 in addition to existing licensing fees.
- Spring Lake Township, MI: Spring Lake Township tightens its short-term rental regulations by removing STRs from the R-3 zoning district and creating a new STR overlay district, now limited primarily to the eastern Strawberry Point neighborhood.
💬 Catch Up on Discussions
- Bedford, TX: Bedford’s City Council continues tightening oversight of short-term rentals, recently amending its ordinance to include crash pads—shared housing options often used by traveling professionals—under the same rules as traditional STRs.
- New Braunfels, TX: In New Braunfels, Texas, short-term rental (STR) operators are entering the summer season with cautious optimism despite ongoing regulatory hurdles.
- Beaufort, SC: Beaufort residents are raising alarms over disruptive short-term rental guests, unkempt properties, and a growing sense of instability.
- Beverly, MA: Beverly’s City Council is forming a Special Committee to review its current short-term rental ban which only allows licensed lodging houses to operate legally.
- Danville, VA: Danville’s Board of Zoning Appeals is pushing for a clearer set of rules before approving special-exception permits for short-term rentals, after seeing a wave of incomplete and premature applications.
- Warren County, NY: Warren County is warning short-term rental (STR) owners to register and ensure compliance with both New York State Sales Tax and County Occupancy Tax requirements, especially following a new state law effective March 1, 2025.
- Miami, FL: Residents in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood are pushing for stronger enforcement against illegal short-term rentals in high-rise buildings where such activity is prohibited under zoning laws.
- Dewey Beach, DE: Dewey Beach Town Council updates its code to clarify how short-term rental taxes are handled now allowing property owners to designate an agent—such as a property manager or platform like Airbnb—to collect and remit the town’s accommodation tax.
- Ocean City, NJ: At Monday night’s meeting, Ocean City officials revealed the results of a petition challenging a recently passed ordinance that bans short-term rentals in neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes and mobile homes.
- Avon, CO: Avon’s Town Council approved the first reading of a proposal to include The Kestrel, a 24-unit luxury development, in the town’s short-term rental overlay allowing up to three units to be used as year-round STRs due to a 15% cap for properties outside the town core.
- Newport, RI: On May 14, Newport’s City Council narrowly voted to advance a resolution that would ban all new non-owner-occupied short-term rentals responding to widespread concerns about affordability and the erosion of year-round housing.
- Penn Yan, NY: The Penn Yan Village Board held a public hearing Tuesday evening on a proposed local law that would establish routine fire safety and property inspections for short-term rental units throughout the village.
- Selbyville, DE: Selbyville’s Town Council moves to update its code to clearly ban short-term rentals under one year, aiming to address confusion as STRs begin to surface in town.
- Murfreesboro, TN: Murfreesboro’s City Council has begun exploring short-term rental regulations, with city leaders signaling early concerns about the pace of STR growth and its potential impact on public safety and city finances.
- Antrim, NH: Antrim’s Planning Board finalized a revised short-term rental policy at its May 15 meeting, aiming to curb issues tied to off-site management of rental units that had prompted frequent police visits due to noise and parking complaints.
- Iberia Parish, LA: Residents of Bayou Jack in Iberia Parish say their once-quiet neighborhood is in decline, and many point to the rise of unregulated short-term rentals as a key cause.
🌱 Let’s Explore: Emerging Trends
🏢 STR Tax Compliance Tools Are Gaining Ground: Local governments are increasingly turning to software and stricter reporting requirements to close tax gaps tied to short-term rentals. Citrus County, FL is adopting monitoring tools from GovOS to improve tourism tax collection, while Dewey Beach, DE is clarifying rules around tax agents to ensure platforms like Airbnb handle remittances correctly. Similarly, Warren County, NY is warning STR owners to comply with both state and county tax laws, reflecting a broader push to make sure rental activity contributes its fair share to public coffers.
🗺️ Zoning Carveouts Redefine Where STRs Can Operate: Across the country, cities and towns are redrawing zoning lines to better control where short-term rentals are allowed. Spring Lake Township, MI created a dedicated STR overlay confining rentals to a specific neighborhood while excluding them from others. In Avon, CO, local leaders voted to allow limited STR use in a new luxury development through the town’s overlay system. These targeted zoning approaches suggest a shift toward more precise, district-based regulation allowing communities to balance resident concerns with tourism-driven demand.
🎊 Enforcement Challenges Lead to Policy Rollbacks and Resets: In places like Nantucket, MA and Danville, VA, officials are realizing that vague or overly ambitious short-term rental rules can backfire. Nantucket’s Board of Health recently dropped a proposed bylaw regulating large gatherings at STRs citing serious enforcement issues. Danville’s zoning board, meanwhile, is urging clearer rules before approving new permits, after fielding a wave of incomplete applications. These cases highlight a growing recognition that strong policy must be backed by realistic enforcement, and that course-correction is sometimes necessary as communities fine-tune their approach.
📅 Future Meetings and Public Hearings/Comments:
- Ocean City, MD: Ocean City has scheduled a special referendum for July 22 to decide the fate of Ordinance 2025-04 which aims to ban short-term rentals in the city’s single-family residential and mobile home zones starting in 2027.
🖱️ Click of the Week: See What Everyone’s Reading
Scott Miller
Eagle County officials decide short-term rental regulations are best left to metro districts, HOAs
Eagle County commissioners have opted against implementing new short-term rental regulations, instead directing staff to collect and monitor rental data, citing existing oversight by local metro districts and HOAs. Officials concluded that a county-wide ordinance would largely duplicate existing rules and potentially reduce the current housing supply.
Stay Updated with STRisker
STRisker offers tools and features to keep you updated with the Short-Term Rental movement across the U.S.
STRisker Updates Tracker
How do you keep up with the regulatory rollercoaster in your market? STRisker's Updates Tracker can be your guide - start tracking latest events as they happen and get access to essential documents as they come in. We know the struggle, which is why we built this product to capture every twist and turn in the regulatory saga so you never miss a beat.
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